


Bait and Switch

by antigrav_vector



Category: Captain America (MCU), Iron Man (MCU), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Choices, Gen, Identity Issues, Mental Health Issues, POV Multiple, Past Bucky Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Self-Determination, Self-Discovery, but nothing about it is mentioned in this fic, hinted Asset/Tony Stark, infiltration attempts, open-ended, past Tony Stark/Pepper Potts - Freeform, pre-Tony Stark/James "Bucky" Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-08 05:18:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13451364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector
Summary: During a test flight Tony's making over the NY metropolitan area with a new drone armour, the Winter Soldier spots and attacks it, thinking he'd been found. The suit he shoots -- puncturing it multiple times -- happens to be empty and piloted by JARVIS, who promptly lets Tony know.Tony... well. Being a ridiculous human being, Tony decides to go investigate, in person.





	1. [Asset POV]

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. Please excuse any remaining typos.

It had been three weeks and four days since the Asset had failed his mission a second time. The man impersonating Captain America still lived, and was at large. His target had been last seen in a hospital in the DC Metro area, but hadn't stayed there long and the Asset hadn't yet found out where he had been moved to.

The strange flickers that facing that man had caused, though, refused to leave him alone. They'd intensified over time, increasing from one or two in a week to several a day, as he'd searched for his target, trying to pick up the man's trail.

For someone who wore a flag proudly and loudly spoke in favor of liberty and equality -- two concepts that the Asset knew were mere propaganda tools -- his target was surprisingly elusive.

The Asset glanced around the small room he'd appropriated in an abandoned townhouse, recataloging what was in the space for all that he knew it inside and out by now. A small window opposite the door that let in just enough light to see by in cloudy weather and painted a square of bright sunlight on the door in good weather. A barely intact and badly stained chair and table he'd scavenged out of a dumpster. A cooler he'd stolen from a gas station and used to keep his foodstocks cool. A ratty pillow and blanket that he'd bought second hand for a few dollars and laid out on the bare concrete floor. And his one luxury: a solar power source and a laptop. 

Reassured that everything was in its place, he settled himself in the chair and unlocked the computer. It was set up to run a search of any traffic cameras he had access to throughout the nation, and do it during all sunny daylight hours. Rather than drain his power source dry, though, the Asset didn't run the search overnight or in bad weather. 

The search had resulted in a number of pings for the man's team and associates, but none for the target himself.

The Asset considered his options. He could simply continue to search, as he was, but that appeared to be a losing proposition. If his target was good enough to hide from surveillance effectively enough that he didn't show up at all on the Asset's searches, there were better than even odds that continuing on as he was would yield little or no result in a reasonable timeframe.

He could attempt to go to New York, the next most likely location for his target to appear, after Washington DC. The Asset knew he had enough funds in reserve for such an undertaking. He could get more, if he needed it, but the idea of presenting himself to a handler before he'd accomplished his mission -- regardless of how many attempts it took -- was unappealing. It was sure to result in punishment of some sort. Likely one that they would let him remember for a while or made him repeat before they finally put him back under. For all that the Asset felt no particular emotion where his treatment was concerned, he preferred to avoid that eventuality if he could.

The handlers would certainly punish him for failing his mission, whether or not he completed it, but his eventual success would be viewed better than his return now with no result.

The Asset nodded to himself. He was going to New York.

\------

The Asset bit back a growl of frustration. It was substantially harder to find an empty apartment to commandeer in New York than it had been in DC. He'd ended up picking out a reasonably sheltered spot on the rooftop of an apartment building and jamming the roof access closed as best he could without drawing attention to his actions. That the door had almost been rusted shut when he'd tried it was a good indication that it was infrequently used at best. The gravel on the rooftop had been all but choked with grasses and weeds, too.

He would be significantly colder outdoors, though, the Asset knew. Summer was just beginning to truly heat up, here. It wouldn't take long for the concrete and steel to catch the heat, turning the city into a sauna by day and a stifling blanket of humidity by night, but until it did, the evenings would be chill. He might need to find himself another blanket.

The weighted feeling of _knowing_ that went with the factual knowledge was unexpected. He felt like he could feel the oppressive heat on his skin, feel the shortness of breath that came with high humidity. Felt the odd unaccustomed and unjustifiable fear that came with the shortness of breath.

The Asset paused. He'd never associated fear and humidity before. Why was he now?

It took him a minute and 24 seconds to force the thought and its associated emotions aside, so that he could focus well enough to start his search program running again. 

Once that was done, he settled back down in the shade and closed his eyes, resting.


	2. [Tony POV]

The drone armour he'd designed was working well, and the knowledge made Tony grin widely, for all that he wasn't inside it. Now he had the capability to send the suit out and control it from his workshop if Iron Man was needed but Tony was injured. Or JARVIS could control it, if Tony ever needed to be in two places at once.

Sending the suit into one last loop-the-loop over Brooklyn before he turned it toward home, he could only watch as the displays fritzed and went out.

"Sir," JARVIS reported, "I believe the Mark IL has just been shot down. Three high-calibre bullets pierced the mask, arc reactor casing, and left thigh, causing the power couplings and satellite uplink to fail."

A map popped up under his hands and Tony stared at it for half a second before he bolted for his heavier tank-proof armour. He'd made this version lightweight, so that he could replace the suitcase suit with it, but if it could be shot down like this, he might have to rethink the design. "Button me up, J. We're going after it."

"Perhaps it would be wise to--" JARVIS tried.

"Nope. Going now. Alert Cap if you have to, but I'm not waiting for him. And keep an eye on that suit. Don't let anyone steal it."

"Very well, Sir."

Tony could hear the disapproval clearly, and gave his AI a half smirk. "It'll be fine. You're sending backup after me, regardless of whether I need it."

The faceplate closed and his HUD booted up. Trusting in his systems and his AI, Tony threw the throttle wide without a second thought, flinging himself up into the air, and flying a slalom through the highrises of Midtown as he made his way toward the point where his new suit had been shot down.

"Sir," JARVIS spoke up again, "I cannot discern the person's identity, but someone is investigating the crashed armour."

Tony felt the anticipation fizz through him. "Well, let's give him something to look at, then."

Now that he was out in open air, Midtown fallen away behind him, JARVIS highlighted the target building on his HUD. The armour had apparently landed on a rooftop and not broken apart. Good. That meant Tony wouldn't have to go searching for the pieces later. And, sure enough, a figure in black body armour was crouched over the suit, apparently trying to find a way to open it. Probably to get at him and either confirm that he was dead and either take him or kill him if he wasn't.

This was going to be oh so satisfying. A fierce grin tugged at his lips as his plan crystallized in his mind.

Tony threw himself into a dive that would take him skimming over the rooftop in question, just feet above its surface. He saw the guy look up, startled, as he approached, but there was no time for either of them to react. Tony laughed as he snatched the guy up into the air. "Looking for me?"

The guy he'd caught growled at him, turning to grapple with him, and Tony almost dropped him in his surprise, suddenly realising just who he had in his grasp. "Whoa!"

He had to calm this guy down, and pronto, or there'd be hell to pay. Tony pulled up into a hover, trying to pin the guy's hands without losing his balance. "Stop that! Are you trying to commit suicide? Jesus!"

"No," the Winter Soldier replied shortly. "You will release me or die."

Fucking hell. Now what? Tony scrambled for something to say that wouldn't make this worse. "No one has to die," he said after a beat.

The Soldier got his metal hand free and grabbed for a knife. Tony winced. This was going to end _so badly_ if Cap and the others burst in on the scene and scared the Soldier even more. Hell, it might end really badly for _him_ if he didn't focus. "Hey," he tried again, "what're you doing here in New York, anyway?"

"You will not stop me," came the predictable answer and the knife screeched along Tony's rib plating.

"Yeah, I get it, I've head the spiel before. Yadda yadda world domination, HYDRA's might, et cetera." Tony threw back, trying and failing to pin that left hand again. "I even get why that might mean I have to die. But we can talk this out." His flippant reply got him a startled, almost astonished look and the Soldier stopped struggling for a bare moment. Tony huffed and continued, sensing that he'd somehow gotten the guy's attention with that. "What? You thought you and the Cap were the only two guys in the world without any conception of the word 'limit'?"

"You do not know what you are talking about." The Soldier glared at him, and Tony was suddenly struck by how blue the guy's eyes were. They made a startling contrast to the dark hair that whipped around his face in the wind and the raccoon mask of black grease paint he wore. It was surprisingly attractive.

"Maybe not," Tony conceded, "but neither do you." An idea struck him out of the blue and he almost laughed. "Come back to my place, and let's talk. I want your input on that suit you ruined."

"What."

Tony could tell that his request had caught the Soldier totally off guard, and decided to just run with the idea. At best he'd convince the guy to come back to the Tower, at worst he'd be back to square one and fighting him in midair. "I'm serious. You found a bunch of design flaws without even knowing what you were doing. I want to fix them. Come give me your suggestions." The guy considered that. Tony could see him weighing action and consequence. "If you want, I can fix up that arm for you, in recompense," he offered.

"And if I'm found in your Tower? What then, Stark?"

Ah, so he _did_ know who was in the armour. "We'll deal with that if and when it comes up. I'll handle the team. If I have to, I'll pay you a consulting fee and everything."

The silence stretched out, and Tony had to literally physically bite his tongue to keep from continuing to talk.

"Put me down."

Not sure what that meant, but not about to break their tentative truce, Tony started lowering them toward the rooftop he'd grabbed the Soldier up off of.


	3. [Steve POV]

He hadn't been sure what to expect when JARVIS had told him that Tony's spare suit had been attacked, but it sure wasn't Tony standing on a rooftop in Brooklyn with his faceplate up, a faraway look in his eyes, and a shot up suit of armour at his feet.

"Iron Man?" he tried, cautiously. "You alright?"

Tony turned to face him, and Steve could see that Tony had clearly been in a scuffle. The brightly colored lacquer on the armour was scratched and scuffed, and there were several long lines across his torso. Steve had clearly missed the action, such as it was. 

"Yeah, I'm fine."

As though the words had broken him out of some kind of paralysis, Tony started picking up the armour and muttering to himself about repairs. Steve caught something about reinforcement and joints, and wanted to sigh. Tony evidently wasn't interested in telling him what had happened, and that made him a bit leery. If Tony wasn't talking, then it was probably something far more important and interesting than just a punk with a gun. If that had been the case, Tony would have been at street level handing the guy over to the cops. Not staring at the horizon like he was trying to see right through it.

Then, too, there were a limited number of topics that Tony would keep totally closed-mouthed about where he was concerned. Stark Industries was one of them. The Iron Man armour was another. But those were only tangentially related to this little incident. No, this was bigger. This was something Tony thought might lead him to interfere.

"Need a hand getting that back to your workshop?" He offered.

"Don't worry about it, Cap," Tony grinned at him, and Steve could tell it was partially faked. It didn't _quite_ reach Tony's eyes.

Tony was worrying about something, and it wasn't the armour. Steve watched him thoughtfully. More likely it was something to do with the workshop that Tony didn't want him to see or know about.

Steve resolved to keep an eye on Tony for the next few hours. There was something fishy going on, and he wanted to know what. Generally when Tony started hiding was when they started disagreeing. He'd learned that pretty quickly after the Chitauri Invasion. Tony, for all that he very obviously hated it when they fought, still hid things that he deemed critical to one thing or another that Steve 'wasn't cleared for'.

And that begged the question: just what had Tony found here that he thought was important enough to hide from Steve?

Watching Iron Man haul the broken armour up into his arms and jet off toward the Tower as the rest of the team finally arrived on the scene, Steve resolved to find out just what was going on.

"Cap?" Natasha gave him a knowing look. "You're wearing your determined face."

Clint chimed in over their comms. "I get the feeling we missed something."

"No idea what, yet," Steve replied. "Tony's keeping secrets."

The statement got a chuckle out of Clint. "We all know how well that usually goes. You gonna pry it out of him?"

Steve shrugged. "Might take a few attempts."

"If the first doesn't work," Natasha suggested, "let me try."

Without another word, they made their way back down to street level, where Natasha's bike and his were standing, waiting. A few curious onlookers stared at them, and a couple of others took pictures or filmed them.

That gave Steve an idea, and he resolved to ask Natasha to look into it if he couldn't make the man talk. Maybe whatever Tony had done had been recorded by someone somewhere besides his AI. As it was, he might not even have to ask, for that matter. Natasha might well look into that aspect of the question, unprompted. He decided he'd keep that tactic in reserve until he needed it, as he settled himself back on his bike and started it.

"See you back at the Tower," Natasha told him with a half-smile. "I have a couple of errands to run."

Meaning she wanted to confer with her contacts at SHIELD, Steve guessed. "Alright, keep your comms on you."

The drive back was uneventful, and Steve was kind of glad of that, with the way this mystery attack was making his head spin. JARVIS wouldn't have called them for a false alarm, after all.

Steve paused in his walk to the private elevator that led directly to the levels of the building set aside for the team, as the thought registered properly. He hadn't considered that until now, and turning it over in his mind lent another layer of mystery to the whole affair. Either JARVIS would not have called them in, or he would have let them know far sooner, if their assistance wasn't needed. That the AI hadn't said anything after raising the alarm was interesting. It implied that JARVIS had honestly thought Tony needed their help and never really come to the conclusion that the opposite was true.

Which made it all the stranger that Tony was hiding and trying to brush them off, now. And, it appeared, Tony had convinced his AI not to spill the beans on what was up, too.

Steve wanted to shake his head. Everything about this whole call rang ever so slightly false.


	4. [Asset POV]

He watched from his nearby rooftop as Iron Man soared back into the sky, leaving behind the Target and the Black Widow, and tried to work out the motive behind the man's offer.

It had sounded genuine.

And that had surprised him into listening to whatever insane thing was about to come out of the guy's mouth. Stark's voice -- apparently unfiltered save for the electronic overtones, because the Asset could hear tone and emotion come through clearly -- had shown none of the hesitations or tonal qualities of a lie. But why would he want to invite someone like the Asset into his Tower? He'd claimed to want to know how to improve his armour, and the Asset didn't doubt that was true enough, but would he also allow the Asset to leave again afterwards? He could find a way to escape easily enough, he was sure, but the encounter had left him... curious. He wanted to know more.

Stark was sure to restrict his access to the rest of the building save for the areas he'd specified. He'd offered a route into the building through the underground garages that would make it possible for the Asset to enter without being seen, which had shown a willingness to think about and accommodate his own requirements, in the case that he accepted. A peace offering of sorts, the Asset suspected. Stark had to have known that something like that could easily make or break the delicate deal he'd been trying to strike.

Knowledge of that nature about a building like Stark Tower was a precious commodity, especially to someone like him.

Moreover, the Asset was certain that his target was either living in the Tower or that Stark knew where to find him. The two of his teammates that had shown up on the scene, had done so quickly enough that they must have been somewhere inside the City limits when Stark had called them, and there were few places in New York secure enough to house someone like the Black Widow or his target.

The Asset's organic fingers twitched.

Would Stark try to betray him? To capture him? He hoped not.

Iron Man might be one of HYDRA's priority targets, but the Asset wasn't on mission to deal with that threat right now. Changing that would mean a lot of trouble. For both of them.

He carefully didn't consider his current mission. Perhaps the best course of action would be to suspend those directives until after he'd worked out what Stark had up his sleeve.

Perhaps.

He needed to think.


	5. [Tony POV]

Waiting patiently was a subtle kind of torture, Tony was sure. He was on pins and needles, and he knew it was obvious.

It didn't help that Steve was sure to show up and try to quiz him about the Incident this morning. His excuses had been a bit transparent, and Steve wasn't nearly as dumb as he pretended. The only real saving grace, as it were, was that the rest of the team was locked out of his workshop, on account of the highly sensitive projects he worked on in there.

Yeah, his plan to invite the Winter Soldier in there wasn't the smartest, but sometimes the best plan wasn't the smartest. He'd extended a bit of trust to the man, and it had seemed to work. If he offered a little more, he'd either end up dead or vindicated... but that was par for the course as a superhero. Ever since he'd put on the armour, his life had been high-risk-high-reward, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon. Might as well try to bring the Winter Soldier into the fold.

He'd been so surprised to just stumble over the guy that he hadn't even thought to question what the hell the Soldier was doing in New York. But now that he'd had some time to come back down off the adrenaline rush, Tony kind of suspected that the Winter Soldier had followed Cap north. Whether he'd figured out where Steve was on his own or had help was moot. But that he'd ended up in Brooklyn was interesting with a capital I. Steve had said Barnes remembered nothing, hadn't known him. So was the Winter Soldier starting to remember? Was it a subconscious choice? Total coincidence?

Tony knew those were questions he would likely never know the answer to, and it was a bit maddening.

Then too, he was probably in for a hell of a screaming match when Steve found out what he was about to do -- hell, what he was actively trying to do -- and Pepper would back Steve up. Widow probably would, too.

They were probably right.

"Sir," JARVIS broke into his wandering thoughts, sounding thoroughly disapproving again, "I believe your guest is here."

Surprised -- Tony had honestly expected to be turned down despite the tiny hints to the contrary -- he jumped to his feet. "I'll meet him in the garage sublevel."

If he could pull this off, it would be one of the biggest bait-and-switch operations ever. And not just because his drone armour had played bait for him. If he could pull this off... If he could keep Steve off his case just long enough, he might be able to fix this whole mess and give HYDRA the middle finger while he was at it.

If.

Tony grinned widely. He'd been playing the longest of odds for years and won so far. What was one more roll of the dice?


End file.
